Help Please with some Ancients?

Dabigkahuna

I can't seem to find an exact photo anywhere of these to identify them with. I think they are all Alexander from what I can make out of the reverse legend?

Also, they have been sealed in old mylar for the last 25 years or so and sterting to pick up that yuk oily sstuuf. Should I use vinegar or acetone to help preserve the coins? I haven't a clue really.


















Thanks,
Larry
Dabigkahuna

lordmarcovan

Hey, Larry.

It's all Greek to me.

No Romans there, anyway. (Unless one of them happens to be a Republican or provincial issue I don't recognize.)

Cool looking pieces. If they have PVC goo on them, then yes, they should be acetoned.

(edited 3x for miserable typing- I am typing like a spastic two-fingered orangutan tonight.)

Dabigkahuna

Thanks Rob,

If you get down to the FUN show this Jan. then I wil bring some of the Roman bronze coins.

lordmarcovan

Good to see you, Larry.

I don't think I'm gonna make it to FUN this year, but we'll see.

If you have Romans I need, then lemme know!

lordmarcovan

Oh, BTW, I don't know too much about ancient Greek coins beyond the little bit I've learned from a book or two I have, but the coinage of Alexander the Great usually has him portrayed as Hercules/Herakles, wearing the skin of the Nemean lion on his head, like this:



Yours DO look BC Greek, but that's the extent of my very limited knowledge. I think some of the Corinthian coins with Minerva/Athena had a similar portrait, but I can't help too much, short of browsing Wildwinds. I'm not quite as green on the Roman stuff now, but still a complete novice/ignoramus with ancient Greek (or Parthian, Byzantine, etc) coins.

Sapyx

<< <i>Oh, BTW, I don't know too much about ancient Greek coins beyond the little bit I've learned from a book or two I have, but the coinage of Alexander the Great usually has him portrayed as Hercules/Herakles, wearing the skin of the Nemean lion on his head... >>


Actually, they hadn't quite invented the concept of placing the ruler's portrait on the coins during Alex the Great's lifetime - it was his successors that began this practise. We don't really know what Alexander actually looked like, so we can't say for sure whether the portrait of Hercules on his coins was supposed to physically resemble the king or not.

The two out of five coins which you've shown the reverse of are definitely in the name of a "King Alexander" - that's what the Greek inscriptions say. But it may not have been Alexander the Great; there were several kings after Alexander the Great who also used that name. For instance, the one with the fluted column is dated: CXR are the Greek numerals for 6+60+100 = Year 166, which obviously isn't a regnal date. If we assume it's dated by the Seleukid calendar (year 1 = 312 BC) then Year 166 equates to 147 BC, during the reign of Alexander Balas (150-145 BC) - a nice match.

We'll need to see the reverses of the serrated ones to have an idea about their ID, but those won't be from Alex the Great's lifetime - they hadn't invented serrated coins that early, either. Both the Seleukid and Ptolemaic kingdoms issued serrated coins, I believe, and some serrated coins for Alexander Balas are listed in Sear.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>Actually, they hadn't quite invented the concept of placing the ruler's portrait on the coins during Alex the Great's lifetime - it was his successors that began this practise. We don't really know what Alexander actually looked like, so we can't say for sure whether the portrait of Hercules on his coins was supposed to physically resemble the king or not. >>

I think I see the distinction you're making.

What you're saying is, I should've merely stated something like, "Much of Alexander the Great's coinage bears the portrait of Hercules".

Period.

Dabigkahuna

Most cool!

I will take some better pics and post them today.

Thanks!!!

CIVITAS

Vinegar is a bad idea with ancient bronze. Use the acetone.

Can you provide more pics of the reverses?

There's at least a couple of Seleukid coins from Ancient Syria there.

Dabigkahuna

Not the best pics but here goes.

This is one of the "bottle cap" coins.

Dabigkahuna

This is one of the cool "bottle cap" coins.

Dabigkahuna

There are some deep digs and a lot of shine from the PVC on this one.

Dabigkahuna

This is the smallest of the group.

TitusFlavius

I think Sapyx was right on with Alexander Balas, and all five coins are likely from this short-lived Seleukid king. The upper and lower-right coins in your first picture are, respectively, #7040 and #7039 in Volume 2 of David Sear's "Greek Coins And Their Values". The two coins on the left appear to both be #7045 which is listed as having a serrated edge. The coin in the center doesn't appear to be listed, but Sear mentions that Alexander produced a wide variety of bronze coinage during his five-year reign and his listings are only a selection of known types. You've got a nice mini type set of this lesser-known king Alexander.

I like your term "Bottle Cap" coins. I'm going to start using that.

Dabigkahuna

Thanks!

I think Spynx hit on the head with the date I think. about 150 B.C. and the Seleukid King Alexander.

TiberF,

Thank you for the input. I have about two dozen of these actually. Most are slightly different but from the same period and are noted as being Alexander's. They came as a lot sealed in binder pages from an 1986 Superior Galleries auction. They were sold as a lot so the only info I have is that they were from the "Frank Grove and Robert Grover Collection" and they are attributed as Alex I.


The Bottle Cap planchets are way cool.